Contact-shoe for third-rail electric cars.



c. F. RAYDURL CONTACT SHOE FOR THIRD RAIL ELECTRIC CARS.

APPLICATION FILED APR- 24, I9I6.

Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

CHARLES F. RAYIDURE, OF WEST PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

oonreor-snon iron THIRD-RAIL nnnoraro cans,

Application filed April 24, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Crmnnns F. RAYDURE, a citizen of the United States, residing at West Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have in-. vented certain new and useful Improve ments in Contact-Shoes for Third-Rail Electric Cars, of which the following is av specification.

My present invention relates to certain novel improvements in the structural arrangement as well as operation of the contact shoe for third-rail electric-cars for.

which United States Letters Patent No. 1,169,865 were granted to me under date of February 1st, 1916.

In the present instance the contact shoe having the supporting member applied to the car truck-beam is provided with a housed adjusting and take-up means and the contact shoe member straddles the said supporting member and the end pintles of the same are detachably mounted in up turned bearings of said supporting memher; the arrangement beingsuch thatthe contact shoe member can be instantly parted from the supporting member without disturbing the same save removing the nut of the adjusting and take-up means and loosening two nuts with which the electrical means are held in connection with the said shoe contact member for establishing a reliable working electrical condition thereof, the defined arrangement constituting what is termed an overrun contact shoe for the third rail of an electric system.

The nature and scope of my present in vention will be more fully understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part hereof in which Figure 1 is a front elevational View of the complete contact shoe in a position. adapted for use with the electric connections therewith to a. fuse box shown in broken section and carried by the car truck- I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

Serial no. 93,153.

rangement of the overrun contact shoe mem' her for application to its supporting member and housing adjusting or take-up means for the said contact shoe-member and operative from the outside and above the latter member in position.

Referring to the drawings a, is the contact shoe member, consisting of a rectangular shaped casting, as shown, having the shoe or contact plate a as an integral part of the same. The rear of the said casting is formed with pintles (o and a and between them and extending in front thereof is a centrally located bridge piece a as I clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The supporting member I), is cast with a smooth surface back and sunken face and with a centrally located housing 5 and on each side is provided upturned bearings b and Z2 for engaging the pintles a and a" of the contact shoe member. In the hous ing is mounted a flanged bolt 6 carrying a helical or coiled spring thereon and when the contact shoe is caused to straddle by the bridge piece a the said housing 5 the upper end of the bolt 6 is passed therethrough and a nut b, is applied to the same as clearly. shown in Figs. 1 and 2, for adjustably positioning the contact shoe member (a, in respect to the supporting member Z), therewith. The arrangement is such that any wear or slack of the member a, can be instantly compensated for to increase or decrease the tension under which it is held by either tightening or loosening the nut Z), on the spring-controlled bolt 6 mounted in the housing of the said supporting member b. This member is connected with the longitudinal truck-beam c, of the car by means of bolts 0 and 0 carrying as shown ribbed surface washers 0 and 0 These bolts are capped by nuts 0 and a, to hold the same firmly or securely against movement in either direction of the member 6, as will be clearly understood from Fig. 1 of the drawings.

The electric connections (Z, fit a removable block (Z bolted to the recessed upper edge of the member 6, as shown in Fig. 1. The cable d of the said connections, (Z, leads to a fuse box 6, carried by the car truckbeam, and therefrom are lead line cables 9 and 9 to and through the car to a source of supply, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. From the block al cables (Z and (Z lead to nuts 03 and a located on both sides of the bridge piece (a as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3, for establishing reliable electrical connection of the contact shoe member with the supporting member and through the car to the source of electric supply.

The foregoing described contact shoe mem- Qer in operative relationship with its supporting member carried by the car truckbeams is such, that as cast it can be employed without machining for necessary use. Further it can be readily adjusted or the tension under which it is held increased or decreased simply by manipulating the nut 6 of the spring-controlled bolt 6 Moreover, when necessary the overrun shoe con tact member may be released by simply loosening the two nuts a and a and removing the central nut b of the bolt 6 and then lifting the said member a, by its pintles a? and 0- out of the bearings b and 6 of the supporting member 6, and without otherwise disturbing the latter member in its connection with the car truck-beam c, as will be apparent from Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings.

Having thus described the nature and objects of my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is In an electric railway provided with a third rail conductor, a contact shoe for said conductor, comprising a supporting member arranged to be connected to the car truck-beam and having electrical connections, said member having upturned end bearings and a centrally located rectangular-shaped housing for a spring-controlled bolt mounted therein and an oblong flat face overrun contact shoe-member arranged with a centrally located pro ecting rectangularshaped bridge-piece and end pintles, sa1d bridge-piece spanning the housing of said supporting member and the pintles thereof engaging the upturned bearings ofsaid supporting member, the spring-controlled bolt held in the housing of said supporting member extending through the bridge-piece of said contact shoe-member, means detachably applied to said bolt above said bridge-piece to readily increase or decrease the tension of said contact and supporting members in respect to each other, and cables from the electrical connections of said supporting-member with said contact shoe-member, and positioned by nuts applied to bearings of said overrun contact shoe-member on opposite sides of the bridge-piece thereof, the arrangement being such that said contact shoe-member can be instantly parted from said supporting member without disturbing the same by simply removing the nut of said spring controlled bolt and loosening the nuts from the bearings of said contact shoe-member by which the electrical connections with said supporting-member are held in reliable working condition with said contact shoe-member.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my signature in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES F. RAYDURE.

WVitnesses J. l/VALTER DoUeLAss, THEODORE RosnMAIu.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

